The present invention relates to an obstacle detection apparatus used in a self-running robot, and a method of detecting obstacles.
Conventional self-running robot systems have been used in offices and factories to transport articles. An obstacle detection apparatus is required to prevent such a self-running robot from bumping against an obstacle. A conventional obstacle detection apparatus comprises an ultrasonic transducer. Such an ultrasonic transducer is used to detect an obstacle only by distance data. When the route of the self-running robot is simple, the robot can be guided by only the distance data. However, when the route is complicated and the robot must be guided and diverted around obstacles, position data as well as distance data is required. In order to meet such a demand, a shape recognition method by waveform analysis using an ultrasonic sonar system has been developed.
However, such a method requires a long processing time and a large system, resulting in inconvenience.